1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns wheeled golf carts that fold. The present invention particularly concerns golf carts that fold along plural axes each of which is parallel to the wheels' axis.
2. Background of the Invention
It is known to make wheeled trolleys and hand trucks, particularly including golf carts, that are foldable for ease of transport and storage. Folding golf carts are commonly made out of metal, particularly aluminum, tubing They normally fold to an elongate shape that is similar to the golf bag which the carts carry, and to which the carts often remain affixed when folded.
The most common folding golf cart design employs an elongate column member, substantially vertically disposed in the operative position of the cart, which attaches the length of the golf bag. Leg members which rotatably mount wheels at their distal ends are pivoted relative to the central column, normally by being attached near its mid-point. The column also connects a pivoting handle. In the cart's operative condition the legs are pivoted and held away from the column, thereby forming an "A" frame suspension. The column and the golf bag held thereon reside at the apex of the "A" while the two wheels reside at the legs of the "A". Also in the cart's operative condition the handle is pivoted to an extended position whereat it may be used to pull, or to push, the column and its affixed golf bag to roll upon the wheels. In the collapsed, or folded, condition of the cart the arms lie substantially parallel to the column. The wheels are sometimes pivoting, or sometimes removed, during folding in order to improve compactness. Finally, the handle pivots to a folded position lying along the column in the collapsed condition of the cart.
A folding golf cart of this predominant prior art design and construction has certain limitations. It is not normally significantly shorter than a golf bag, or approximately 40", when folded (unless it is further disassembled). Because of its elongate nature it is not as easily manipulated when folded as would be a folded object of the traditional suitcase profile.
The elongate column and leg members of the cart encounter high stress and are thus conveniently and economically subject to fabrication primarily from metals. These metals suffer adversely from corrosion in the outdoor environment in which the golf cart is used. Alternate composite or non-metallic materials of construction such as woods, plastics, fiberglass, and the like are poorly suited to prior art folding cart designs. This is because these materials are normally best formed into pivotally connectable structural members in the form of planar or solid bodies, and not as tubes or shafts. In other words, a non-metallic material can readily be used to make an elongate cylindrical member, such as a fiberglass or wood golf club shaft, but this same material is not readily machined or formed, as is metal, at its end so as to make a pivoting connection. Pivotable connections made with plastics and other non-metallic materials normally extend over large spatial regions, as witness the common live hinge of a plastic tool box. It would be desirable if corrosion-resistant lightweight non-metallic materials could be used to make a golf cart which was foldable by act of pivoting between its members while still being adequately rigid and strong in its pivot joints. The conventional "A" frame folding golf cart design is not particularly suitable for implementation in non-metallic materials.